Khael felt the Shard beating inside his chest.

Not metaphorically.

Not spiritually.

Literally.

A second pulse thrummed beneath his ribs, like an alien heart grafted into flesh that wasn't meant to hold it. Each throb burrowed deeper into his nerves, sending thin strands of icy heat spiraling through the channels of his Vein Gates. The pressure was maddening like something ancient was reaching upward, clawing to the surface of his soul.

And his own heart…

His own pulse…

matched it.

Beat.

Beat.

Beat.

Beat.

He raised his hand toward his chest, fingers trembling as if the Shard were pulling them.

K's eyes sparkled.

Khael saw triumph blooming there quiet, smug, inevitable.

A predator savoring a moment he had crafted with patience and precision.

"Yes… that's it." K whispered.

His voice was silk, brushing across Khael's shaking spirit.

"Accept the burden. Accept your fate. Hand it over."

Khael's breath rattled. His vision blurred. The world narrowed into three things:

The unbearable pressure inside his chest.

The bodies of his fallen friends.

K's hand open, hungry, waiting.

Behind him Juno collapsed again, blood trailing from his lips.

Ceyla tried to push herself up but only managed to lift her head an inch before it dropped, cheek pressing against the cracked earth.

Andromeda clung to Matthew's half-broken body, whispering his name through clenched teeth.

Ryn held Mari's trembling shoulders as she sobbed helplessly.

This wasn't a battlefield.

It was a graveyard waiting to be filled.

Khael's fingers touched his chest.

K leaned forward, his smile deepening.

"A wise decision at last."

The world seemed to hold its breath.

But then

A voice tore through the silence like thunder.

"IT'S NOT OVER YET!!"

Khael flinched.

K's head tilted.

And the smoke behind them split apart as a massive figure burst forward—bloodied, staggering, covered in cuts deep enough to show bone, yet moving with unstoppable momentum.

Captain Robi.

The veteran Taishin warrior.

The once-feared Crimson Veinwalker.

The man who had held the line during the Mountain Rift War.

His left arm dangled uselessly. His ribs were cracked. His face was smeared with soot and blood.

But his grip

on the long spear strapped to his back

was iron.

He ripped the spear free with a roar.

And then he vanished.

No Shinrei.

No glowing aura.

No flashy Veinwalker power.

Just pure, brutal Taishin force.

The ground cratered beneath his footstep.

A shockwave burst behind him.

K's eyes widened faintly.

"Pulse Gate…" he murmured.

"You're still capable of opening that in your state? Interesting."

Robi blurred across the battlefield and materialized in front of K with a spinning spear thrust that cracked the air like a whip.

K deflected the strike with two fingers.

But his feet slid back an inch.

A single inch

yet enough to make the entire ruined field stir with alarm.

Robi inhaled sharply, veins bulging as he forced open another layer of his Taishin technique.

His shin bones cracked.

His joints screamed.

And the spear ignited with the raw force of his physical power, forcing the air to spiral around its tip as if the weapon could pierce gravity itself.

Robi bared his teeth.

"You think this world bows to YOU?"

He lunged again, each movement ripping apart the already shattered ground.

"Not while a Taishin still draws breath!"

K flowed aside with inhuman fluidity, twisting his wrist to redirect the spear away from his chest.

But Robi was faster than expected.

Far faster.

He spun, elbow slamming toward K's jaw in a vicious arc—

and K's hand shot up to parry it

only for Robi's knee to slam into K's ribs at the same moment.

A direct hit.

A shockwave burst forth like a cannon.

K slid back several meters before stabilizing himself.

Smoke curled off his coat.

He brushed a hand over his ribs.

His smile returned.

"Hoh… impressive. Truly."

He straightened, eyes glowing faintly.

"It has been a long time since I fought a Taishin who wield a spear."

Robi spat blood onto the ground, gripping his spear tighter.

His breathing was ragged, but the fire in his eyes blazed brighter than any Veinwalker's Shinrei.

"If you know who I am, then stop talking."

He took another step forward.

"Face me like the enemy you are."

K's smile sharpened.

"Very well. Show me your Taishin Path, spear-wielder. Let me see if the old doctrines still hold weight."

Robi's aura didn't glow.

It didn't need to.

Every muscle, tendon, and bone in his body was pushed to the brink—

then past it

then past that.

He twisted his neck, vertebrae cracking.

Then he whispered

"Tendon Gate… open."

A pulse shivered down his arm.

His grip tightened.

His foot settled into a stance older than written history.

He vanished again.

K turned just in time to catch the spear thrust but Robi redirected mid-strike, the shaft bending at an impossible angle thanks to his enhanced flexibility. The spear carved a spiraling arc, aiming for K's throat.

K raised his arm

The spear grazed his cheek.

A thin line of blood trickled down.

K blinked.

Then he laughed softly.

"So you can still draw blood. Impressive. I haven't bled in ages."

Robi didn't respond with words.

He slammed open his next gate.

"Core Gate..OPEN!"

His torso expanded slightly, ribs widening, organs reinforcing. He roared, veins bulging like writhing cords along his arms.

Then he charged.

His movements were brutal and precise, spear thrusts like cannon shells hammering against K's defenses. Each impact echoed with bone-shattering power. The earth groaned beneath each footfall.

K parried casually at first

but Robi's sheer force kept escalating.

His strikes grew faster

stronger

more monstrous.

At his seventh strike, K's posture shifted, expression tightening ever so slightly.

At his tenth, K's coat ripped at the shoulder.

At his twelfth, K's boots dug trenches into the ground.

Robi's voice thundered through the battlefield

"This is for my squad dead because of bastards like you…!"

His spear slammed down, cracking open the earth.

"For my city ruined because monsters like you think emotion makes us weak!"

He drew back, veins glowing dark red.

"For my people, who still believe we can fight for each other!!"

K lifted a hand, amused yet attentive.

"Emotion… always emotion. And that is why Veinwalkers fall. You are ruled by your hearts. It is… beautiful, but ultimately pathetic."

Robi's gaze sharpened.

"You talk like someone who never held a dying comrade in his arms."

K's smile remained but something behind it twitched.

"You presume much."

Robi readied another strike.

But K raised a single finger.

And the air around him warped.

The battlefield dimmed.

The pressure changed heavy, suffocating, like being submerged in deep water.

"Taishin Captain Robi." K said quietly.

His tone shifted no longer amused.

Cold.

Detached.

"You have earned my respect. But this ends now."

He flicked his finger.

The space in front of Robi shattered.

Robi's pupils tightened

"Iron Nerve Gate….OPEN!!"

His pain signals vanished.

His muscle fibers ignited with raw force.

He spun his spear, preparing to charge through the distortion

But K vanished from sight.

Robi reacted instantly, twisting

Too late.

K appeared at his flank, two fingers pressed against Robi's ribs.

"Void Art: Rupture Pulse."

A black ripple exploded outward.

Robi's body shot through the air like a meteor, crashing into a boulder with bone-crunching force. The rock split under the impact.

Khael screamed, "CAPTAIN!!"

Robi slid down the shattered stone, leaving streaks of blood behind him.

His lungs rattled.

His bones cracked.

But he pushed his spear against the ground

and forced himself up.

K's eyes widened faintly.

"You can still stand? How fascinating. Taishin bodies truly are durable things."

Robi coughed out blood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"…H-Heh… my wife hits harder…"

K chuckled softly.

"You jest in the face of death. Admirable."

Robi pointed his spear.

"You're not killing anyone else today. Not while I'm breathing."

K stepped forward, elegantly brushing dust from his coat.

"Then stop breathing."

Robi lifted his spear, legs shaking

But before they could clash again

A broken, quiet whisper reached Khael's ears.

Matthew.

Still unconscious.

Still standing.

Still bleeding.

Still held in place by Harmonae's fading wings

but now

a faint glow stirred beneath his skin.

And Khael saw it.

His spirit.

Matthew's Echo Spirit.

The last piece of his strength

rising.

Krael's breath caught.

And even K paused, eyes narrowing.

The world shifted again.

Khael's hand still over his chest trembled violently as the Shard reacted to the surge of Shinrei from Matthew's body.

K exhaled softly.

"Oh… this is becoming problematic."

He turned his gaze back to Khael.

"Make your choice, Dragon Knight. Before things escalate beyond even my calculations."

Khael stared at his trembling hand.

At his unconscious friends.

At Robi, barely standing.

At Matthew, glowing faintly despite his shattered body.

His heart pounded.

The Shard's pulse synced with his.

Beat.

Beat.

Beat.

Beat.

His vision tunneled

and then something inside him snapped.

He lifted his head

and his eyes were not the same.

To be continue

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